Workshop



Sept. 10, 1968 N. v. SVENSSON WORKSHOP Filed July 5, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F|G.1

MfinAA z m i W 1 Akbornegs P 1968 N. v. SVENSSON 3,400,832

WWWWWW OP Filed July 5, 1967 INVENTOR. N1 is Ve rner fivensson Aitornez s United States Patent 3,400,832 WORKSHOP Nils Verner Svensson, Goteborg, Sweden, assignor to Aktiebolaget Gotaverken, Goteborg, Sweden, :1 corporation of Sweden Filed July 5, 1967, Ser. No. 651,218

Claims priority, application Sweden, Aug. 15, 1966,

Claims. (Cl. 212-1) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A workshop adapted for the erection of large building structures is provided with at least two parallel overhead crane systems having rails carried by pillars and a common erection platform arranged below the said crane sys tems. The platform is designed to permit the building structure, between steps in the erection work, to be displaced laterally in respect to the paths of the cranes towards an opening in the side wall of the workshop and consists of a narrower portion arranged below at least one crane system remote from said opening and of a broader portion below at least one crane system adjacent to the opening.

CrOSs reference to related application building, described in the inventors US. Patent 3,011,252.

Background of the invention For a series production of large building structures composed of prefabricated components, especially in the shipbuilding industry, severe demands are made for this transport facilitates of the workshop. A workshop for this type of work usually is equipped with a number of parallel overhead crane systems, which each consists of rails carried by pillars. These pillars very often are included in the support frame of the workshop building. An erection platform is usually arranged at right angles to the paths of the overhead cranes, with a possibility to move the building structure laterally between the steps in the erection procedure. It is then necessary to provide openings corresponding to the size of the building structure, so far erected, between the different crane systems and at the outermost of these, also in the longitudinal side wall of the building proper.

The rails carrying the overhead cranes rest on pillars, which usually are uniformly spaced. In connection to the erection platform, however, the distance between the pillars must be increased in such a manner, that it is possible to move the building structure laterally from the path of one crane to that of the adjacent one and finally out through an opening in the side wall of the workshop. The rails extending above the erection platform must be considerably stronger than those in the normal portion of the crane ways. With very large structures the rails, which must span the total breadth, will have very large dimensions.

Summary of the invention The present invention aims at a design of the erection platform and in connection thereto also the overhead crane rails in the workshop in such a manner that it will not be necessary to utilize these extra heavy rails allover the erection platform. The erection platform consequently consists of a narrower portion arranged below at least one of the crane systems remote from the opening and of a broader portion below at least one of the crane systems adjacent the opening. The narrower inner portion preferably is somewhat broader than one half of the 3,400,832 Patented Sept. 10, 1968 broader portions, and both portions are symmetrically arranged in relation to the longitudinal axis of the platfrom. This is preferably located about at the middle portion of the workshop, and the various overhead cranes have essentially the same breadth.

Brief description of the drawings FIGURE 1 shows a plane view of the building portion of a workshop utilized in connection with a building dock for ships and provided with five overhead cranes.

FIGURE 2 shows a detail of the workshop according to claim 1 in perspective.

FIGURE 3 shows schematically a part of a ships hull during erection in the workshop.

Description of the preferred embodiment The workshop is provided with five: overhead cranes 1-5 each consisting of rails 7 carried by pillars 6. The outer rail system for the cranes 1 and 5, respectively, form part of the structure of the workshop and carry the outer longitudinal walls thereof, here schematically denoted by 8. In the middle portion of the workshop an erection platform is arranged, which is an extension of a building dock 9, the bottom of which is sunk below the floor of the workshop. The erection platform consists of an inner narrower portion 10, arranged directly below the crane system 2 and 3, and an outer broader portion 11, arranged directly below cranes 4 and 5.

The various cranes have essentialy the same breadths, and extend to both sides of the platform. The narrower portion 10 of the erection platform is somewhat broader than one half of the total breadth of the building dock, and both portions are symmetrically arranged in relation to the longitudinal axis of the building dock. Prefabricated components, which are manufactured in the part of the workshop below cranes 1, 2 and 3 on either side of the platform may be transported to the narrower portion 10 thereof, and there joined to a part structure, which is moved laterally to the broader portion 11, where it is completed with components manufactured in portions of the workshop below cranes 4 and 5, as will be more completely described in connection with FIGURE 3. It is evident that the spacing between pillars 12, which are arranged on opposite sides of the narrower portion of the erection platform, will have to be somewhat larger than the spacing between the ordinary pillars, which carry the crane rails. The part 13 of the rail carried by these pillars must consequently be of stronger design than the ordinary rail parts 7. To each side of the broader portion of the erection platform the pillars 14 will be located at a still bigger distance from each other, and the rail 15 resting thereon will in turn have to be designed much stronger than rail 13. It is evident that the design of the workshop will be considerably simpler and cheaper with this design, than if the erection platform had had the full breadth also below the crane systems 2 and 3.

The workshop is well suited for the building of ships, especially large bulk carriers, which consist of a central box shaped unit containing a series of tanks or possibly two series of tanks arranged parallel to each other, as well as portions containing Wing tanks joining this central box shaped unit. It is possible to subdivide the hull structure in such a manner, that the centre box structure, which usually covers somewhat more than one half of the ships breadth, will include the longitudinal bulkheads separating the center tank from the wing tanks. This central box structure will then contain the heaviest components, and these are erected on the narrower portion of the erection platform 11. This central box structure may in turn be subdivided in portions which each may consist of a bottom section 16 having the breadth of the central structure and of sections 17, 18 resting thereon. The upper parts of these sections form the deck of the ship in respect of the central structure.

FIGURE 3 shows schematically how a ship may be erected within the workshop. A first bottom section 16 belonging to a fourth portion of the central box structure is erected on the platform below crane 2, while the complete central box structure of a third portion containing sections 16b, 17b and 18b is being erected below crane 3. A second portion of the ship is being erected on the broad portion 11 of the erection platform, and to the central box structure previously prepared in a preceding step are here added wing bottom sections 190. In the outer part of the broader portion 11 the first portion of the ships hull is made complete by the addition of the wing tank sections 20c and 210, respectively. The hull thus gradually grows for each step it is pushed outwards, and adjoining components of two portions are also joined. The after body of the hull 22, which is difiicult to subdivide in simple geometric components, may be manufactured and erected in arbitrary manner.

In this embodiment the ship is completed step by step and is pushed outwards into the welding dock in such a manner, that it in principle leaves the workshop as a completed hull. With plants of this type it is advantageous to arrange a removable, water-tight door, 23, between the narrower and the broader portions of the erection platform. It is then possible to start the building of a new ship on the narrower portion of the erection platform, while the first ship is being completed and removed from the clock.

The invention may also be utilized with sectional building systems, where the different portions of the ship (consisting of part sections 16 to 21 respectively) are joined to a separate ring section, which by means of a crane of arbitrary design located outside the workshop, for instance a portal crane running along the sides of the building dock, may be transported to the suitable position within the dock, where the ring section is connected to the already assembled part of the hull. The invention may also be utilized with such workshops, where the erection platform is arranged at the level of the floor of the workshop. The number of overhead cranes is of course arbitrary, and

on occasions it may be suitable to design the erection platform with portions having more than two different breadths.

I claim:

1. In a workshop adapted for the erection of large building structures and provided with at least two parallel overhead crane systems having rails carried by pillars, as well as with a common erection platform arranged below the said crane systems and designed to permit the building structure, between steps in the erection work, to be displaced laterally with respect to the paths of the cranes towards an opening in one side wall of the workshop, the improvement wherein said erection platform is so constructed as to include a narrower portion arranged below at least one of the crane systems remote from said opening in said side wall and a broader portion arranged below at least one of Said crane systems adjacent to said opening in said side wall.

2. A workshop as claimed in claim 1, in which the narrower portion of the platform is somewhat broader than one half of the broader portion thereof, both portions being symmetrically arranged in relation to the longitudinal axis of the platform.

3. A workshop as claimed in claim 1, in which the platform is located in an intermediate portion of the workshop, the crane systems extending to both sides thereof.

4. A workshop as claimed in claim 1, in which the overhead cranes have essentially the same breadth.

5. A workshop as claimed in claim 1 for the building of ships, in which that the erection platform is designed as a building dock being sunk below the floor of the workshop.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 536,910 4/1895 Berg 21210 982,883 l/l91l Schnabel 21222 1,481,868 1/1924 Huckins 212-98 EVON C. BLUNK, Primary Examiner.

H. C. HORNSBY, Assistant Examiner. 

